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Plain Progressive Talks 



UPON THE 



WAY OF SALVATION. 

BY REV. DAVID R. BREED. 



" And a highway shall be there, and a way, and 
it shall be called The way of holiness ; the unclean 
shall not pass over ic ; but it shall be for those : the 
wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein." 

Isa. 35 : 8. 



3i o: 



AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, 

150 NASSAU ST., NEW YORK. 






COPYRIGHT, 1877, 
BY AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 



The Library 
of Congress 



WASHINGTON 



7- 

c 

fi 

h 

THE AUTHOR'S REQUEST 



Let me make a very simple request of the 
reader : not to peruse this little book hurriedly, 
but 

i. Slovvlv, 

2. Thoughtfully, 

3. Bible in hand. 

St. Paul, Nov., 1877. D. R. B. 



CONTENTS. 



I. Who May be Saved -- page 7 

II. How to Seek Salvation • 15 

III. How Salvation May be Apprehended 22 

IV. Salvation Assured -- -- 29 

V. The Evidences of Salvation 38 

VI. Full Salvation- 43 

VII. How Salvation may be Lost 50 



PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS 



UPON THE 



WAY OF SALVATION. 



I, 



WHO MA Y BE SA VED. 

In case of any great act of executive clemen- 
cy, it is very important to know who are inclu- 
ded in the offers of mercy. After a rebellion in 
an empire, a pardon is often offered to certain 
parties, while justice is visited upon others. 
Immediately after our late civil war, amnesty 
was proclaimed to all who had never served the 
government of the United States in a civil or 
military capacity. In the matter of human sal- 



8 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

vation, a full pardon is extended to one specific 
class, and to that class only. 

It is, then, of utmost importance that we 
should know who belong to that class. 

There are some who assert very loosely that 
salvation is free; that all may have it who will, 
and that no one will be excluded from heaven 
who seeks to enter. 

This is certainly a mistake. The Bible does 
not warrant the statement ; and those who make 
it without other explanation or qualification, 
cheapen the precious gift of God. Salvation is 
repeatedly declared to be for one certain class, 
and for none others. Who belong to this 
class ? 

The Saviour himself gives the answer in 
Luke 5:32: "I came not to call the righteous, 
but sinners to repentance.'' We find similar 
statements also in the following passages : Matt, 
9:13; 1 Tim. 1:15; Luke 19: 10. 

Jesus Christ came to earth to seek the lost — 
to save sinners. 

We ought, therefore, to endeavor to under- 
stand the exact meaning of these words, "right- 



WHO MAY BE SAVED. 9 

eous," " sinners." Let us study them sepa- 
rately. 

I. The word " righteous " may be used to des- 
ignate 

I. Those who are personally perfectly holy. 
Such persons, certainly, would need no Saviour. 
If we could imagine a soul to which the taint of 
sin had never been communicated, we should 
perceive at once that the errand of the Son of 
God in its behalf was unnecessary. So when 
that rich young man in Matt. 19: 16 came to 
Jesus with the question, " What good thing shall 
I do that I may have eternal life ?" Jesus gave 
him the answer for the righteous man, " Keep 
the commandments." Yet Jesus, in reply to his 
salutation of " Good Master," told him, "There 
is none good but one, that is God ;" and to this 
all men will doubtless agree. 

It is not likely that a single individual can be 
found in Christian lands who considers himself 
personally holy ; and it is certain that, from 
Christ's own remark, there was none among his 
hearers whom he considered such. It is evi- 
dent, then, that by " righteous" Jesus did not 

ProRiesHlve Talks. Q 



io PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

refer to those who were perfectly holy, and that 
this is not here the meaning of the word. 

2. The word "righteous" maybe applied to 
those who esteem themselves sufficiently holy to 
be saved zvithout Christ. 

It is entirely plain, from the Saviour's own 
language, that this is the sense in which he here 
used the word. We are told in Luke 18:9 ^ iat 
he addressed the parable of the Penitent Publi- 
can to those " which trusted in themselves that 
they were righteous." A similar definition is 
also given in Luke 10:29 and 16: 15. Indeed, 
if, as he said, there was no one good but God, 
he could have meant none others. 

There is no record of Christ's ever having 
offered salvation to those who " trusted in them- 
selves that they were righteous." He showed 
them their danger, warned them, threatened 
them ; but he made them no offer of salvation 
whatsoever, so long as they remained in that 
state. 

And Christ does not offer anything to such 
to-day. If you consider yourself good enough 
to merit salvation, neither Christ nor the ser- 



WHO MAY BE SAVED. « 

vant of Christ has any message of pardon for 
you. 

The Saviour illustrated his meaning with the 
expression, " They that are whole need not a 
physician, but they that are sick." They who 
think themselves well are not visited by the doc- 
tor; and thousands die every year because of 
the delusion. So those who think themselves 
righteous receive no visit from the Great Physi- 
cian ; and thousands perish from that delusion. 
A cure cannot be extended to the first, nor sal- 
vation offered to the second. 

II. The class, then, who may be saved are 
"sinners." This word has two meanings, just 
as* the word " righteous" has. 

I. It may mean all those who are personally 
unholy. Such is generally supposed to be its 
meaning. But that this is not its meaning in 
this connection may be readily shown; for in 
that event it would include all classes, even 
those who consider themselves righteous, for 
they are sinners like their fellows. But since 
this distinction is made, it is evident that the 
word does not include all the unholy. 



12 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

It is just at this point that many minds are 
led astray. They read that Christ "came to 
save sinners ;" and because they understand by 
the word " sinners" all who sin, they find in the 
invitation to accept of salvation no special appli- 
cation to themselves. The offer is too general. 
But by observing the next point we shall see 
that the invitation is not general, but particular ; 
that it is not made to all who commit sin. 

2. The word "sinners" may mean those who 
think and feel themselves sinners. 

Thus the word corresponds exactly to the 
other word which is set over against it : "right- 
eous," those who think themselves righteous ; 
"sinners," those who think themselves sinners ; 
and the meaning of Christ is quite clear : He 
offers salvation to those who believe and feel 
themselves to be sinners ; who are sick, and 
confess it ; who are lost, and know it ; and who 
wish to be found, healed, saved. 

It is to be feared, that because of the loose 
and indefinite notions which some entertain 
upon this subject, they may come to imagine 
that sinfulness recommends one to God; or at 



WHO MAY BE SAVED. 13 

the least appeals to his mercy, as the infirmities 
of others appeal to our sympathies. 

Such is not the case. The sinner finds no 
favor with God because he is a sinner, and is not 
tendered a pardon until he feels and confesses 
his sin. It is not the sin, but the penitent con- 
fession of sin, which determines his capacity to 
be saved. 

Full forgiveness is in waiting for every soul ; 
but it is not proffered to any one until he has 
adopted the language and spirit of the prodigal, 
" Father, I have sinned." 

We have now answered the question, Who 
may be saved ? If it is clearly answered, it 
should set at rest that most pernicious question, 
so often asked by those who desire salvation, 
Must I not wait until I am better ? For you 
will see that so soon as you attempt to fit your- 
self for salvation before you come to Christ, 
you begin to transfer yourself from the second 
class, who may be saved, into that first class to 
whom salvation is not offered. If you should 
succeed in becoming in your own opinion fit for 



14 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

salvation, you would cease to be a "sinner" and 
would be classed v/ith the " righteous? 

If, then, you feel yourself a sinner, Christ 
says that he came to save you. Take him at 
his word. Accept his salvation at once. 

Read Jas. 2:8-13; 1 John 1:8-10; Rom. 
3 = 10-23. 



HOW TO SEEK SALVATION. 15 

II. 

HO W TO SEEK SAL VA TION. 

The first question which occurs to one who 
feels himself to be a sinner, and who desires 
salvation is, How shall I seek salvation ? This 
question we shall now endeavor to answer. 

Unquestionably the salvation of sincere souls 
is sometimes delayed because they seek it in a 
wrong way. Let us then notice some of these 
wrong ways. It is important that they be clear- 
ly pointed out. 

1 . Salvation shotild not be sought in specula- 
tion. 

Any course of reasoning upon such questions 
as Our Lord's Divinity, the Inspiration of the 
Scriptures, the Future State of the Wicked, and 
the like, however important it may be at the 
proper time, is clearly out of place in this con- 
nection. Even if these should all be satisfacto- 
rily settled, their settlement would not secure 
salvation. 



i6 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

A man once came to Jesus, (Luke 13 123,) who 
was evidently very much in earnest, and asked 
him, " Lord, are there few that be saved ?" The 
same question is frequently asked to-day by 
those in a like state of mind. But Jesus did 
not answer his question; for if the questioner 
earnestly desired salvation, there was something 
much more important to be first settled. Per- 
haps the man reasoned that if many were to be 
saved he would "take his chances;" if few, it 
was scarcely worth his effort. So Jesus said in 
reply, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate; for 
many I say unto you will seek to enter in and 
shall not be able." So it is a great mistake for 
any one to speculate on theological questions 
while his own salvation is not yet secured. The 
first, chief, most imperative and pressing duty, 
is to " strive to enter in." 

2. Salvation slioidd not be sought in a course 
of moral preparation. 

There are those whose actions in seeking sal- 
vation remind one of persons who are unaccus- 
tomed to travelling, when they plan a pleasure- 
trip. They occupy days and even weeks in " get- 



HOW TO SEEK SALVATION. 17 

ting a good ready." They consume a month in 
preparing for a journey that will not consume an 
hour. Many indeed never get beyond their 
preparations : they are engaged in getting ready 
all their lives, and die without Christ. They 
have some habit which they must wait to con- 
quer ; some ambiguous business affairs of which 
they must be relieved ; some evil associations 
of which they must be rid; some knotty point 
which they must unravel. They must dress up 
their characters into a presentable appearance 
before they come to Christ. 

The reason why no one should seek salvation 
by such a method of preparation is, because he 
can never be well enough prepared: he is but a 
poor sinner at the best. Many citizens of West- 
ern states are familiar with the sight of a party 
of Indians on their way to Washington to visit 
" the Great Father." They array themselves in 
their best. One wears a stiff silk hat ; another 
a pair of patent-leather boots ; another carries a 
hand-glass ; but all their trappings only render 
them the more ridiculous. And if such a thing 
as humor is known on high, surely the angels 



18 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

must feel it when they see poor sinners attempt- 
ing to patch their rags, or to prepare themselves 
in any way, ere they come to the great Father 
in heaven. 

Do not seek salvation in this way ; for it is 
a mistaken one. Go to Christ just as you are; 
he desires no other fitness than to feel your need 
of him. 

3. Salvation sliould not be sought in the strife 
for some mysterious, undefined, spiritual sensa- 
tion. 

Many persons endeavor to find salvation not 
in Christ and a trustful resting upon him, but 
in & feeling which they cannot describe, but which 
they hope to experience. They read the Bible, 
they attend church, they pray, they consult with 
friends, but the feeling does not come. And it 
will not come. One must certainly be saved, 
before he can feel that he is saved ; and to seek 
to be saved by feeling so is absurd. No one is 
ever saved, any way, because he feels saved ; 
and if one is saved, whether he feels so or not is 
a small matter. Do not then seek to feel saved, 
but to be saved. As long as you are seeking the 



HOW TO SEEK SALVATION. 19 

feeling, you are not seeking Christ. Sensation 
is not salvation. 

These are by no means all the mistakes that 
are made in the search for salvation ; but they 
are the most common. We will now listen to 
the Lord's own statement of the proper way in 
which to seek it. You will find in Jeremiah 
29, beginning with verse 10, a message address- 
ed to the captive Jews, who like all sinners were 
suffering for their iniquities. The Lord informs 
them of the manner in which they might be re- 
stored to his favor, and the words are equally 
applicable to all offenders. u And ye shall seek 
me, and find me, when ye shall search for me 
with all your heart." (v. 13.) This is the way 
in which to seek salvation. Study the verse 
carefully. What is its most important word ? 
The word thrice repeated — " me." Read the 
verse again, giving this word all the emphasis: 
"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye 
shall search for me with all your heart." The 
search for salvation is the search for Christ; 
and salvation will be found when Christ is 
found. 



20 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

If you would seek salvation, therefore, in the 
right way, do not seek to settle your specula- 
tions, do not seek to patch up your character, 
do not seek a certain religious feeling ; do not 
seek anything but Christ, Then you will soon 
be able to say with Philip, "I have found Him." 
(John 1:45.) 

The clause next in importance is, a with all 
your heart." There are three things included 
in a search made with all the heart: 

I. " Now!' If you are not willing to seek 
Christ now, without one excuse or a moment's de- 
lay, do not deceive yourself with the notion that 
your whole heart is engaged. A prisoner who 
is seeking freedom with all his heart, will not 
delay an instant beyond the coveted opportuni- 
ty. And if the slave of sin delays, his heart is 
more fixed on his sin than on his salvation. 

II. Entirely. Seeking to be altogether saved, 
if saved at all : from the love of sin, as well as 
from its penalty. To be saved only in part is 
not to be saved. He who reserves anything in 
his search, certainly does not make it with his 
whole heart. 



HOW TO SEEK SALVATION. 21 

III. For ever. Seeking to be Christ's for 
eternity; to serve him every minute in the day, 
every day in the year, and every year till the 
end. If the covenant is not an " everlasting 
covenant/' (Isa. 4:3,) it is not made with all the 
heart. 

If one will seek salvation thus, there is no ne- 
cessity for suspense; it maybe obtained at once. 
Read Luke 9:57-62; Matt, 19:16-30; Luke 
14:25-35. 



PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 



III. 

HOW SALVATION MAY BE APPRE- 
HENDED, 

He who is disposed to seek salvation with his 
whole heart, will ask at once, " How may I lay 
hold upon salvation ?" Yet some who are anx- 
ious to do so, grope in darkness, because they 
imagine their salvation and their Saviour as far 
off, intangible and mystical, rather than near at 
hand, accessible, and very easily apprehended. 
Oh that they might understand such precious 
words as these : " Surely his salvation is nigh 
them that fear him." Psa. 85 :g. "The word 
is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy 
heart : that is, the word of faith, which we 
preach ; that if thou shalt confess with thy 
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thy 
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, 

THOU SHALT BE SAVED." Rom. 10:8, 9. 



SALVATION APPREHENDED. 23 

This passage is certainly as plain as words 
can make it, yet it does not show just hozv the 
act of fait It is performed. That this may be 
made clear, we shall select an example from the 
Scripture, which, while it may reveal some of 
the mistakes which honest seekers for salvation 
are liable to make, shall also show how the soul 
may lay hold on the Saviour. Open your Bible 
to the 8th chapter of the Acts, and read from 
the 26th verse to the end. 

This Ethiopian was undoubtedly an earnest 
and honest seeker. He had taken a long jour- 
ney from the country now known as Abyssinia 
to Jerusalem, only "to worship" — to satisfy his 
conscience and find peace. But earnest and 
honest though he were, he was thus far unsuc- 
cessful. Though he had the Scriptures in his 
hand, and was such a diligent student of them, 
that he pondered them even while he journeyed ; 
though he had visited the very Temple of Jeho- 
vah in the Holy City, and prayed to God where 
His visible glory was wont to shine ; nay, though 
he was deeply interested in reading about Christ 
in the most: remarkable and lucid passage of the 



24 PLAIxN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

Old Testament, yet he did not know Christ and 
had not received his salvation. He was return- 
ing to his distant home unsaved ! 

Philip meets the eunuch just at this juncture, 
accepts his invitation to ride with him, begins 
at the same Scripture which he is reading, and 
preaches to him Jesus ! The Ethiopian listens 
to his teaching, understands that He of whom 
the prophet wrote had appeared to " put away 
sin by the sacrifice of himself," (Isa. 53:10; 
Heb. 9 : 26,) and without thinking it essential to 
fully comprehend the nature of that sacrifice, 
and without questioning his feelings or his 
faith, but looking only to Jesus, and thinking 
only of Jesus, he receives Him, "like a little 
child," as his Saviour. Luke 18:17. With ut- 
most simplicity he inquires, as they pass near a 
stream, "See, here is water; what doth hinder 
me to be baptized ?" The answer of Philip re- 
minds us of the verse quoted in the last chap- 
ter : " If thou believest with all thy heart, thou 
mayest." The chariot stopped. The preacher 
and the convert alighted and went clown to the 
stream, the convert was baptized, Philip disap- 



SALVATION APPREHENDED. 25 

peared, and the Ethiopian " went on his way 
rejoicing." 

Now why was it that the joy did not come 
until that precise moment ? Why did it not come 
on the eunuch's way from Ethiopia to Jerusalem ? 
nor at Jerusalem ? nor in the holy temple ? nor 
even when returning he read Isaiah's beautiful 
description of Christ ? Becaitse he had not yet 
seen and received Jesus as his own divine Sa- 
viour. But so soon as this was accomplished 
through the instrumentality of Philip's brief dis- 
course, the salvation which could not be secured, 
the joy which could not be experienced through 
all that long journey and that honest, anxious 
search, was his in a moment. 

The transaction, though solemn, momentous, 
and eternal, was brief, simple, and business-like. 
There was nothing mysterious in its nature, and 
nothing protracted in its operation. Philip 
preached Jesus ; the eunuch desired baptism. 
Philip's only caution to him was, to be entirely 
honest and earnest. His reply satisfied Philip 
that he was such, and he was baptized. The 
sequel was joy. 

rrosreselva Tail's. *± 



26 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

You, my reader, may have just the same joy 
as promptly as he. The transaction in your case 
need be no longer or more mysterious. Salva- 
tion may be apprehended at once, if you, with 
all your heart, will believe that Christ is the Son 
of God, and receive him in simplicity as your 
Saviour. 

This story illustrates the mistakes of many 
honest seekers for salvation. They are rold, 
"Read the Bible!' It was just what this Ethi- 
opian had been doing — reading the passage 
above all others which pointed most clearly to 
Jesus, the sinner's sacrifice. They are told, "Go 
to church!' Just what the Ethiopian had been 
doing — visiting the very church where one 
would have expected peace. They are told, 
"Pray" Just what the Ethiopian had been 
doing — in the place hallowed by the petitions of 
ages. But reading the Bible, going to church, 
and praying, did not bring salvation to him. 
They were all in vain until Philip met him and 
preached JESUS ! And so, important as these 
things may be in themselves, they cannot save 
your soul until Jesus is presented to you, you 



SALVATION APPREHENDED. 27 

recognize him as your Saviour, and as such re- 
ceive him. 

The covenant is then a very simple one. You 
take Christ for your Lord and Saviour ; he takes 
you for his disciple and saved soul. Thence- 
forth he is yours ; you are his : the matter is 
settled for all eternity ! Do not be mystified 
and confused because Christ is not visibly pres- 
ent. Do not think of him as far away, out of 
sight and sound. How would you approach him 
if he were now present in his own body, as while 
he was on earth ? What would you say to him ? 
How, think you, he would receive you ? Would 
he understand you ? Would he accept you ? 

Go in just the same way. If you are ready 
to take him as your Saviour and to be his disci- 
ple, tell him so in your own zvords, and fear not. 
" Lord, I receive thee with all my heart, and 
will be thine for ever." That is enough. It is 
even more than the Ethiopian said. 

Only be honest. Remember, " Ye shall seek 
for me and find me, when ye shall search for me 
with all your heart!' Remember, "If thou be- 
lievest with all thy heart, thou mayest" 



28 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

If, so far as you are able to read your own 
heart, you are honest in this, without question 
you will be an earnest and happy Christian, and 
enter heaven at last. 

Read Acts 10 ; 16:25-34; Heb. chapters 9, 
10; John 3:14-18 and 35, 36; 1 John, chap- 
ters 1 and 2. 



SALVATION ASSURED. 29 

IV. 

SAL VA TION ASSURED. 

He who has become a Christian by laying 
hold on Christ in faith, will at once wish to 
know that he is a Christian. 

It is not necessary for any one to know this ; 
but it certainly is very comforting and encoura- 
ging. It assists faith, quickens zeal, and bright- 
ens hope ; therefore, though it need not be 
absolutely necessary to salvation, it is very im- 
portant to the joy and usefulness of the Chris- 
tian life. Faith is the oil which supplies the 
flame; assurance trims the wick. If the flame 
will burn brighter with assurance than without 
it, the believer should possess it. 

Let us first carefully discriminate between the 
evidences of salvation, and the assurance of sal- 
vation. Though very dissimilar, they are often 
confounded. 

The evidences are external ; the assurance is 
internal. The evidences are for the world, the 
assurance for one's own heart. By the evidences 



30 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

others will judge of your Christianity; by your 
assurance you will repose in your own safety. 

A treasury-note is evidence of the indebted- 
ness of the United States. The assurance of 
its being paid is in the honesty and solvency of 
the government, and its ability and intention to 
keep its word. In like manner men in dealing 
with their fellows in business, may have eviden- 
ces without assurance, or assurance without evi- 
dence. A promissory note is evidence of in- 
debtedness; but it is not the assurance of its 
discharge. 

And so the professed Christian often gives 
evidence of being a Christian without having 
assurance ; or he may have assurance without 
giving good evidence. 

It is important that he should have both. 
Reserving, then, the subject of Evidences for 
the next chapter, we shall now consider the 
Assurance of Salvation. 

This assurance is not exactly the feeling sure 
of being saved finally ; but the feeling sure of 
being a Christian now. Final salvation comes 
through present salvation, and it is not best that 



SALVATION ASSURED. 31 

the Christian's faith should skip all the years 
that intervene between the present and eternity, 
thus to be assured of eternity without respect 
to time. If he lives day by day faithfully and 
trustfully, having day by day the assurance that 
he is a Christian noiv, it is enough. The assu- 
rance of final salvation will certainly follow. But 
otherwise he may grow negligent, cold and un- 
faithful ; and his assurance be a hinderance and 
a curse, rather than a help and blessing. 

On one occasion, during a powerful revival of 
religion, a prayer-meeting was held at which 
Christians rose one after another, expressing — 
in the abundant emotion of the hour — their felt 
certainty of entering heaven at last. Near the 
close of the meeting an aged minister, who for 
forty years had been preaching the gospel, rose 
and said, "Brethren, I cannot say that I am 
sure of being saved at last ; I can only say that 
I am sure of being saved now. I pray God that 
he may keep me ' by his power through faith 
unto salvation ;' 1 Pet. 1 : 5 ; but I have not 
confidence enough in myself to state positively 
that the same consciousness of faith and hope 



32 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

which I now have, and which makes me sure of 
salvation now, shall continue." 

So Paul felt: "I therefore so run, not as un- 
certainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth 
the air. But I keep under my body, and bring 
it into subjection, lest that by any means, when 
I have preached to others, I myself should be a 
castaway." I Cor. 9 : 26, 27. 

As we pray " Give us this day our daily bread," 
so we should ask for a fresh assurance of salva- 
tion for each day as it comes. Thus we shall 
be assured of salvation all our lives ; and when 
the last day of life shall come, we will receive 
the assurance of eternal salvation. 

Whence may assurance be derived ? There 
is much false assurance : and it is much worse 
than none at all. Some are assured because 
they have joined the church. Its bishop has 
confirmed them, its session has received them, 
or the body of the faithful have received them 
to their fellowship. Therefore they feel secure. 

Others are sure of salvation because their 
creed is sound and scriptural. Others because 
they feel at peace. 



SALVATION ASSURED. 33 

Some possess assurance because they are con- 
vinced that their faith was and is sincere ; that 
their conversion was genuine ; that their out- 
ward life is correct. 

But the assurance which has no better source 
than the best of these is false. The wisest 
church officers may be deceived ; the intellectual 
belief may be sound, when the heart is impure ; 
the feelings may be peaceful, when the soul is 
at enmity with God ; and he whose assurance is 
altogether based on the quality of his faith, the 
genuineness of his conversion, or the plausibility 
of his external demeanor, may not be resting 
on Christ at all — certainly he is not resting on 
Christ alone. 

What then is the source of true assurance ? 
Read 2 Tim. 1 : 12. "I know whom I have be- 
lieved, and am persuaded that he is able to keep 
that which I have committed unto him against 
that day." That you may be assisted to per- 
ceive the full import of these words, and at the 
same time to distinguish between false and true 
assurance, let me substitute a few words for 
those in the verse, and then place the verse 

Progressive Talks. Q 



34 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

thus modified in a parallel column with the 
verse as Paul gives it. 



FALSE. 

I know what I have 
believed, and am per- 
suaded that / am able 
to keep that which He 
has committed unto Me 
against that day. 



TRUE. 

" I know whom I have 
believed, and am per- 
suaded that He is able 
to keep that which / 
have committed unto 
Him against that day." 



The difference is as infinite as that between 
Veracity and Falsehood, No one can ever have 
true assurance by "knowing what he has be- 
lieved;'' but by "knowing whom he has be- 
lieved;" not by the persuasion that "/am able 
to keep " anything ; but by the persuasion that 
Christ "is able to keep" everything. We are 
confident, not that we can hold on to Christ, but 
that Christ will hold on to us. Assurance rests 
in the person and power of the Saviour, and in 
his fidelity to his word. "The foundation of God 
standeth sure, having tliis seal " — what ? That 
I have joined the church ? that I am orthodox ? 
that I can persevere of myself to the end ? No: 



SALVATION ASSURED 35 

but " the Lord knoweth them that are his." 
2 Tim. 2 : 19. And when the Lord recognizes 
you as his disciple, you are sieve of salvation. 

Suppose that you have a safe in your house 
or office, and your servant, believing you to be 
an honest person, comes to you with fifty dol- 
lars, stating that he has no secure place in which 
to keep the money, and asking you to lock it in 
your safe. You comply with the request, write 
out a receipt, and give it to him, take the money 
and put it in the safe. 

Here is an illustration both of the evidences 
and the assurance of salvation. The receipt is 
the evidence. If the servant loses the receipt, 
the evidence is lost: but not the money nor neces- 
sarily the assurance. For if he believes in you, 
and having sufficient acquaintance with your 
power and honesty can say, " I know whom I 
have believed," then he cannot but be "per- 
suaded that you are able to keep that" fifty dol- 
lars "which he has committed unto you." 

Why should he concern himself further ? Why 
should he come to you daily or hourly praying 
you to assure him that the money is safe ? Is 



36 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

his faith failing ? Are you not thenceforth re- 
sponsible for the fifty dollars ? 

So if you, dear fellow-Christian, have com- 
mitted your soul to Christ, thenceforth your 
soul is in his keeping, and you can trust it 
there. You know whom you have believed : it 
is enough. Only be careful to preserve the re- 
ceipt; that you may not only enjoy your assu- 
rance, but that the world may see the evidences 
of your salvation. 

One thing else should be added upon this 
point. If you have the assurance that you are 
a Christian now, do not dread that when you 
come to die the assurance may fail you. 

The Lord does not bestow " dying grace" even 
upon his best servants until there is occasion 
for it; he never withholds it when there is. 

I have taken especial pains, in connection 
with this particular subject, to inquire of old 
and experienced Christians if they ever knew of 
a case where one who gave good evidence of 
being the Lord's was not assured of final salva- 
tion when the hour of death arrives. / have yet 
to hear of a single instance. 



SALVATION ASSURED. 37 

Sometimes God's people shrink from death 
while death is still far from them; sometimes 
he suffers them, in his loving discipline, to pass 
through long seasons of clouds which obscure 
his face and lead them to doubt their own 
acceptance with him. But when death really 
comes, the clouds always break away. "At 
evening-time it is light." 

So, if you really love and trust the Saviour, 
if you are honestly endeavoring to serve him, 
do not despair, even if you cannot say, " I know 
that I shall enter heaven at last." You will 
enter heaven. Endeavor to cultivate assurance 
as a means of Christian comfort and Christian 
usefulness ; but do not regard it as indispensable 
to salvation. 

But remember this : you will never be as- 
sured of salvation except in resting simply and 
implicitly on the promises of God. "And this 
is the promise that He hath promised us, even 
eternal life." 1 John 2 125. 

Read: Phil. 1:6; John 6 135-44; 10:27-29; 
17 :24 ; 1 Thess. 4: 14-18 ; Romans 8 : 3 1-39; 
Acts 7 : 59, 60 ; 1 Pet. 3:952 Pet. 1 : 1-11. 



38 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

V. 

THE EVIDENCES OF SALVATION. 

You may read as introductory to this subject 
Matthew 7 : 16-23. The central thought of this 
passage is, " By their fruits ye shall know them ;" 
and men will always judge of the genuineness 
of a Christian's religion by its practical effects 
in his life. These effects are many and vari- 
ious. A beautiful summary of them is given in 
Gal. 5 : 22, 23 : " The fruit of the Spirit is love, 
joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, 
faith, meekness, temperance. " 

But we are sometimes arbitrary and inconsid- 
erate in the application of this rule — " By their 
fruits ye shall know them ;" and take little 
account of the various associations, temptations 
and education which operate in different men's 
lives. One man may suffer in comparison with 
another when judged by an arbitrary standard, 
who, if all the qualifying circumstances were 
well weighed, would appear upon the contrary 



EVIDENCES OF SALVATION. 39 

to decided advantage. We cannot measure any- 
one's religion as we do boards and stones, by an 
inflexible rule. You do not expect a crab-tree 
to bear golden pippins. But many a Christian 
is often discouraged and misjudged, simply be- 
cause his fellow-men expect of him, and he 
demands of himself, better quality of fruit that 
is possible to his nature. And, on the other 
hand, some Christians are self-satisfied and 
slothful, as they compare their fruit with that of 
others ; while by natural and other advantages 
they are fitted to bring forth more fruit and 
much better fruit than they do produce. 

While, therefore, these " fruits of the Spirit" 
are recognized as the evidences of salvation, 
there must be beyond them and underneath 
them, as it were, certain principles by which 
judgment concerning them should be governed. 
These principles are indeed very distinctly sta- 
ted in Scripture, and may be summed up thus : 

1. The Controlling Motive. 

When one becomes a Christian his motives 
are radically changed ; and in no other feature 
of his life is the transformation which conversion 



40 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

effects more apparent. For if before his conver- 
sion he was an honest, truthful and temperate 
man, his external .life may not be very greatly 
modified ; but his motives in honesty, truthful- 
ness and temperance will be entirely different. 

What, then, is this controlling motive in genu- 
uine Christianity ? It is given in 2 Cor. 5 : 14-17, 
(all of which please read,) especially in the clause 
H The love of Christ constraineth us" And you 
will find this motive reiterated in various forms 
all through the New Testament. How many 
times are we told in substance that " if we love 
him, we will keep his commandments ;" showing 
that love to Christ is the soil in which every 
fruit of the Spirit is propagated. How do even 
the anthems of the redeemed in Revelation re- 
echo with expressions of gratitude to the *' 
Redeemer as the source of every grace, the 
secret of every struggle, the inspiration in every 
victory ! 

In deciding, then, upon the evidences of salva- 
tion we should first ask, Are love, joy, peace, etc., 
produced by the constraining love of Christ? 

2. An earnest endeavor to be and to do better. 



EVIDENCES OF SALVATION. 41 

Love, joy and peace, truth, virtue and temper- 
ance, are not good evidences of salvation unless 
there is progress in them. Christian growth 
evinces Christian life. He who fights hard to 
overcome his evil habits, and succeeds in making 
headway against them, is bearing better fruit 
than he who lazily lolls in the inactivity of a 
nature which has no obvious evil habits. 

This truth is abundantly set forth in Scripture 
also. Such passages as the parables of the 
talents, (Matt. 25 : 14,) and the pounds, (Luke 
19:12;) the instruction of the Saviour to " strive 
to enter in at the strait gate," (Luke 13 : 24,) and 
the numerous promises to those that " endure 
unto the end," that " overcome," that " hold the 
beginning of their confidence steadfast," will at 
once occur to you. Do not fail to read Philippians 
3 : 12-16. It is this forgetting of past attain- 
ments and pressing on earnestly, indefatigably 
toward perfection in every Christian grace, which 
evidences religion, more than the mere external 
grace itself. 

These principles, taken in connection with 
such fruits as are commonly regarded as the 

Progressive Talks. 6 



42 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

products of sincere Christianity, furnish suffi- 
cient evidence of salvation. 

If Jesus Christ has come into your life as a 
vital, controlling and propelling force, so that 
in love and gratitude to him you seek to grow 
in grace and his knowledge, you will certainly 
give good evidence of being a Christian. For 
if you love Christ, you will love his word, his 
church, his brethren ; you will love to keep his 
commandments, to work for him, to win others 
to him ; you will desire to grow like him. 

Two thoughts by way of caution. 

i. Beware of factitious, artificial standards of 
Christianity — the way one dresses, the tone he 
uses, the amusements he employs, and such like. 
Remember that the evidential fruits of religion 
are such as we have considered above. 

2. Remember that it is no easy thing to 
"endure unto the end." There is a hard fight 
before you. Engage in it manfully, counting all 
the cost, trusting only in Christ for the victory. 

Read Heb. 6 ; 12 : 1-4. Titus 2 : 11-14. 1 
John (entire). John 15 : 1-17. Eph. 3:4, 5, 



FULL SALVATION. 43 



VI. 

FULL SALVATION. 

There are two senses in which the word " sal- 
vation " is employed, both in the Scriptures and 
in ordinary conversation. The first sense is 
that of justification and redemption ; the second, 
that of complete sanctification and glorification. 
The first is the anticipation of the second. The 
first relates to earth, the second to heaven. If 
we use the word in the first sense, it may be 
said that the salvation of the believer is already 
secured — he is saved now ; but if we use it in 
the second sense, it may be said that his salva- 
tion will not be secured until he enters heaven. 

We cannot avoid using the word in the first 
sense ; but it should be done carefully, as it is lia- 
ble to misconstruction; for, though he who sin- 
cerely receives Christ is at once safe, and safe 
for ever, he is wot fully saved until every tempta- 
tion is resisted, every sin subdued, and the soul 
becomes completely purified and glorified. So 



44 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

Paul counsels — to " work out your own salvation 
with fear and trembling," Phil. 2: 12; and Peter 
speaks of believers as being " kept by the power 
of God through faith unto salvation," 1 Pet. 1 ; 5. 
In these verses salvation is regarded as still in 
the future, as also in such passages as Rom. 
13:11; 1 Thes. 5 :g; 2 Tim. 2 : 10; Heb. 9:28; 
Rev. 12:10. To avoid ambiguity, the expres- 
sion "full salvation" is here employed. The 
work of Christ's salvation in us will not be com- 
pleted until all our sin is absolutely removed. 

It is for this full salvation, then, that the sin- 
cere Christian will ever struggle and yearn and 
pray. It will never be attained in this life ; but> 
he is assured of it in the next ; and so, though 
it lies beyond the grave, it furnishes to him his 
inspiration and stimulating hope. A gentleman 
once observed a little boy holding tightly to one 
end of a cord, and gazing, as it seemed to him, 
abstractedly into the sky. " What are you doing, 
my boy ?" said he, " I am flying my kite," he 
replied. " Flying your kite !" and he followed the 
line with his eye, but he could see nothing, and 
said, " But I do not see your kite." " No, sir, nor 



FULL SALVATION. 



45 



do I ; but I can feel it pull !" So we ; we follow 
the red line of the blood of Christ towards the 
full salvation that awaits us; and though we 
cannot see it, we can feel it pull. It is beauti- 
fully described in Scripture. Jesus, the " author " 
of our faith, is one day to be its "finisher." Heb. 
12:2. " The ransomed of the Lord shall return 
and come to Zion with songs and everlasting 
joy upon their heads ; they shall obtain joy and 
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee 
away.'' Isa. 35 : 10. "There shall be no more 
curse." Rev. 22 : 3. " He that is holy," shall 
be "holy still." Ver. 11. 

The truth which is taught in the Bible, and 
which furnishes such unspeakable comfort, is, 
that when we reach heaven we shall be con- 
firmed in righteousness and be secure for ever, 
beyond even the possibility of a doubt or a fear. 
Not a single wave, not so much as a ripple of 
distrust will ever roll over us ; but we shall look 
on and on through the ages before us, whose 
ending even God himself cannot discern, and 
behold only holiness, glory, and rest eternal — 
"quietness and assurance for ever." Isa. 32 : 17. 



46 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

Shall we mention some few of the many 
things which will there contribute to this full 
salvation ? 

I. Absence from the carnal body. We shall no 
longer be hampered by its senses, burdened with 
its infirmities, and retarded by its " fleshly lusts." 
All good men have been deeply sensible of a 
struggle between their carnal and spiritual na- 
tures; and this struggle is expressed by the 
apostle in Rom. 7: 14-25. One of the severest 
of old Roman punishments was to chain a crim- 
inal to a corpse ; and Paul, knowing that those 
to whom he wrote would understand the figure, 
cries out, " O wretched man that I am ! who 
shall deliver me from the body of this death ? I 
thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord/' 
And so Paul, like many since, dwells with most 
joyful anticipation upon the time when he should 
be " absent from the body to be present with the 
Lord." 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1 : 22, 23, etc. And 
when we remember all the pains and evils, sins 
and sorrows which have their source in this 
body, we cannot but realize how fully our salva- 
tion shall be promoted when it is " raised a spir- 



FULL SALVATION. 47 

itual body," 1 Cor. 15 144, and we are "clothed 
upon with our house which is from heaven," 
2 Cor. 5 : 2. 

2. Glorioles companionship. This will be a 
source not only of joy but of spiritual assistance. 
What a help to us even now is the fellowship of 
the pure ! What, then, shall it be when we are 
for ever associated with the perfectly holy ? 
How we are hindered here by wicked men ! 
What, then, shall it be when such are shut out 
for ever ? 

The description John gives in Rev. 21:16, 17, 
of the New Jerusalem, whose length, breadth, 
and height are equal, is figurative, but suggests 
a world that will contain an innumerable host. 
The redeemed have been pouring into it for two 
thousand years, not to mention those that en- 
tered before the Saviour's birth. Among the 
first trophies behold the thief on the cross, side 
by side with his Redeemer ; then the martyred 
Stephen, the apostles and fathers, and others, in 
rapidly-increasing succession, until now they 
throng the pearly gates at the rate of thousands 
every day ! What a sight, could we but stand 



48 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

beneath one of those twelve glistening arches 
and witness their triumphant entrance ! 

" Ten thousand times ten thousand, 
In sparkling raiment bright, 
The army of the ransomed saints 
Throng up the steeps of light ! 

"'Tis finished ! all is finished — 
Their fight with death and sin ; 
Fling open wide the golden gates, 
And let the victors in !" 

What a complete salvation ! How blissful it 
would be to mingle with the ransomed of all 
ages and all climes ; to converse with Paul and 
Isaiah and Moses; to hear David sing again, 
and Abraham recount the everlasting covenants 
of God ! Language cannot depict the scene. 

3. The presence of God. Infinitely surpassing 
all else ! " He will dwell with them, and they 
shall be his people; and God himself shall be 
with them, and be their God.' , Rev. 21:3. 

We do not comprehend all that is implied in 
such promises. We cannot know all until we en- 
joy their fulfilment. Whether we shall ever see 
the Almighty Spirit in his own peculiar nature is 



FULL SALVATION. 49 

questionable ; but we shall at least see the glory 
of his presence, and we shall see Jesus ; and 
what that means, who can conceive ! " It doth 
not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know 
that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, 
for we shall see Him as He is." 1 John 3 : 2. 

As one grows inevitably like the person with 
whom he is most closely associated, so the soul, 
brought into eternal personal contact with the 
Redeemer, will be transformed into his image. 
And that will be full salvation : to repose for 
ever in the presence of Christ ! There will be 
room enough at his feet for all of us : to hear 
his own story of Bethlehem and Gethsemane 
and Golgotha ; to have himself unfold his loving 
dealings with us in time, and conduct us through 
the lessons and the pleasures of eternity. 

Dear friend, it is all for you — if, feeling your 
sins, you seek him with all your heart, lay hold 
of him in faith, and persevere by his grace unto 
the end. 

Read 1 Cor. 15:51-58; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 
2 Pet. 3 ; John 14, 17; Rev. 21, 22. 

Progressive Tulks. 7 



5 o PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

VII. 

HO W SAL VA TION MA Y BE LOST. 

It may be, dear reader, that you have reached 
this chapter in my little book, and that you have 
not yet received Christ nor become a partaker 
of his salvation. Let me ask your especial at- 
tention to the few words that remain. 

There are two ways in which one may be 
lost : he may follow the advice of the infamous 
wife of Job, (ch. 2 : 9,) " curse God and die ;" and 
thus by one single desperate deed plunging 
headlong into eternal damnation. Several years 
ago three highwaymen were hung in Montana, 
and as one saw another suddenly suspended in 
mid air, he said, " Good-by, Bill ; I shall be in 
hell with you in a minute I" 

This is horrible, blood-curdling ! It is the one 
way in which to be lost. The other, though not 
so horrible, is much more terrible, because it is 
more insidious, and the soul dies by stealth. 



HOW SALVATION MAY BE LOST. 51 

The night of eternal darkness falls upon the 
sinner as gently as a summer's evening. But 
though the twilight be lingering, the following 
darkness is intense. 

This way of losing salvation is suggested in 
Heb. 2:3:" How shall we escape, if we neglect 
so great salvation" — the way of simple, but fa- 
tal NEGLECT ! Go on, just as you have 
been going all these years, hoping, desiring, and 
even in some measure seeking salvation ; re- 
specting religion, envying Christians, moved by 
conscience, and deeply affected by many an ap- 
peal ; but neglecting, by one hearty, honest act, 
to take Christ for your Saviour and become his 
disciple. 

The Bible gives illustrations of both these 
ways. Of the first : Balaam deliberately sedu- 
cing the people of God whom he could not 
curse, and dying suddenly in battle ; Korah de- 
fiantly rebelling against the authority of God, 
and meeting with swift destruction ; Judas sell- 
ing his Lord and hanging himself. Of the sec- 
ond : Terah loitering on his way to Canaan, 
lapsing again into idolatry and dying at* last 



52 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

without God ; the lawyer who was " not far from 
the kingdom of God," but did not enter ; Agrip- 
pa " almost persuaded," but not altogether. 

The latter are the sadder cases — those who 
have salvation within reach, but do not grasp 
it ; those who must wail for ever, " // might have 
been!' The way in which they are lost is then 
the most terrible. 

Reader, "Now is the accepted time." Not 
because God stands like an executioner before a 
culprit to whom but a few moments are grant- 
ed, waiting when his time of mercy has expired 
to strike him down to death ; but because you, 
in your neglect of God's mercy, are slowly but 
surely moving away from the possibility of ac- 
cepting it. 

Why is it that souls are ever lost in this way ? 
Can we discover the fallacy by which they are 
betrayed and ruined ? It seems to be this : that 
they do not decide. Instead of deciding for 
Christ NOW, they resolve to decide THEN— 
at some future or more convenient time. But 
the difference between deciding and resolving to 
decide is the difference between salvation and 



HOW SALVATION MAY BE LOST. 53 

ruin ; heaven and hell. No one was ever saved 
by resolving to decide ; thousands have been 
lost. They say, " I will accept Christ to-mor- 
row ;" but, as the old proverb declares, " To-mor- 
row, though always coming, never comes." You 
may go through the whole of life deciding to be 
Christ's "to-morrow," and die unsaved. If ever 
you do become a Christian, you will decide " to- 
day? 

You have seen structures consisting of hori- 
zontal bars projecting from an upright beam in 
the centre, and having wooden horses at the 
ends which describe a circle when a crank is 
turned. They are sometimes called " flying- 
horses." One of these horses may be fastened 
but six feet behind another, yet, though it swing 
round and round to all eternity, it will never 
overtake it. It is a picture of those who resolve 
to decide. " To-morrow," they say. To-morrow 
comes, and still they say, "To-morrow;" and 
thus, though keeping the decision, it may be, 
but a single day in advance, they wheel round 
and round the circle of their years until the ride 
of life is ended. 



54 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE .TALKS. 

Oh what a fool the soul that thus delays ! 
You expect to be a Christian some time ; if you 
felt the icy hand of death upon you, you would 
this moment fall upon your knees and beg the 
Saviour to receive you now ! Why not fall upon 
them before you realize his awful presence ? 
Why not take the Saviour now ? 

How do the firemen act when an alarm of fire 
is struck ? Suppose them soundly sleeping in 
the engine-house and rudely awakened by the 
clanging bell. Do they yawn, and mutter, " Let 
it burn awhile ; time enough yet ?" No, indeed. 
But at the first sound of the gong they are out 
of their beds ; the second, and their feet are 
thrust through pants into boots; the next, and 
they are beside the steamer whither the horses 
have already hurried. The straps are buckled 
in an instant, the driver springs to his seat, the 
engineer mounts behind, the great doors swing 
open, and out dashes the steaming monarch of 
the fire, like a startled deer — ten seconds after 
the first note of alarm ! 

And yet over and over and over again the 
alarm of eternal fire has been sounded in your 



HOW SALVATION MAY BE LOST. 55 

conscience ! Do not cheat your own soul, do 
not despise the Spirit of grace, do not presume 
upon the mercy of your God by even harboring 
the thought of u time enough yet! y It is the 
devil's deepest, most dastardly deception; it is 
the plea that ends in perdition. 

In many Oriental countries it is the custom 
to affix to the criminal the description of his 
crime. Thus above the cross of Jesus was writ- 
ten, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." 
One may pass through the streets of some city 
of China and witness criminals undergoing all 
sorts of punishments, and labelled " thief," "liar," 
and the like. 

And so the sinner's crime is to be branded 
upon his soul for ever. Upon some we will read 
" Selfishness," " Lust," " Idolatry," and other 
words of terrible import ; but on the very large 
majority of those who had lived in Christian 
lands will we read a word more sad, more terri- 
ble than these, because of the blessed opportu- 
nities it shall recall, the precious privileges, the 
glorious possibilities, all slighted, wasted, and 
for ever thrust away— " NEGLECT T 



56 PLAIN PROGRESSIVE TALKS. 

God forbid it, dear reader, in your case. God 
help you, ere you close this little book, to de- 
cide for Christ and eternity. 

Read Hebrews 3:12-15; Mark 10:17-22; 
2 Peter 2:21, 22; Proverbs 1:24-33; 2 Co- 
rinthians 6:1,2. 



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